My Three Girls

I bought a copy of this novel based on comments I read about it here and elsewhere. Although not flashy, glamorous or palpitating with sexual innuendo, it nonetheless deserves reading for its unashamedly "normal" people who do everyday things in a somewhat bleak and uninviting environment. I know the area of California in which this story is set and the author captures the heat, dust, boredom and low key atmosphere that I remember from driving through it on many occasions.A story of mother love - both reluctant and trimphant, a story of the need to adopt grim measures to deal with bereaved children and an honest assessment of some of those who live their lives at the edges of acceptability, this novel is so firmly based in the realities many of us face on a daily basis that it almost seems like reportage rather than fiction. Indeed, the least successful element (for me) of this story is the relationship between the hero and heroine although maybe it would be better to think of them as survivors rather then heroic. Dana and Brady mke difficult decisions about how to manage three orphaned and abondoned sisters and then get on with the prosaic everyday life we all must lead.My Three Girls gets its point across well - we are all selfish in our selflessness but altruism has its rewards. In this case, love grows out of necessity and children deserve nurture and love.

Five years ago Dana Ritchie virtually shut down her emotions after loosing a child. While he might not have been born of her body, the boy had been in her care long enough that he belonged in her heart. Dana left behind her teaching position to accept a new position in a remote town at a one-room school where she was both teacher and administrator. She learned to survive grief by ignoring it, working late hours until she falls into bed in exhaustion. Then one day a mother won't her accept refusal, leaving three young girls in Dana's care.When the call regarding three abandoned girls comes, Deputy Brady Moore takes it; they are his nieces, although he hasn't seen them in years. His brother's imprisonment and divorce resulted in hostility from the girls' mother, even if Brady regularly deposits a rather large portion of his salary in her account for the girls' care. Too bad the money was misused and the girls neglected. When he discovers the condition of the house and their mother's suicide, Brady proposes to Dana. They might have known one another only for a few hours, but they both want to keep the children from foster care. Together will have to decide if a marriage of convenience can last forever. Susan Floyd handles the difficult challenges and painful side of life with the finesse of a master in MY THREE GIRLS. From shopping at Wal-Mart and pierced ears to prison and suicide, Floyd lends her novel a strong sense of reality while maintaining the magic of love, whether it being a new romance, or reestablishing the connection between a parent and his child. Floyd's bold handling of the darker side of life lends a depth to the novel that is seldom glimpsed in series romance. Of all the marriage of convenience plots I have encountered, this is the most heart rendering and the most profound. A powerfully told tale that belongs on the keeper shelf, MY THREE GIRLS earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

Susan Floyd writes a very special kind of book, one that is entirely believable and full of the day-to-day details of life, from dress shopping with 3 little girls, getting one's ears pierced, washing the dishes, to watching TV on the living room sofa and grading papers. I get so "bonded" to the heroine, in this case a reclusive schoolteacher named Dana, I feel I'm right there laughing and crying along with her.Floyd's characters and stories are down to earth and understandable and wonderfully human; this is, for me, the heart of the romance genre: love in a crazy world where things go wrong but where people still pull together.I wouldn't miss a single one of Floyd's books!

School principal Dana Ritchie finds herself babysitting three little girls when their mother leaves them at the school. She places a call to Child Services, but the girls' estranged uncle Deputy Brady Moore calls at Dana's house instead. Because of the seriousness of the situation, Dana is persuaded to keep the girls for the weekend, but tragedy intervenes and very soon Dana must decide if she will keep the girls and Brady, too.Dana is growing to love the girls and their uncle, however, an event in her past makes her not want to love--and lose--again. When the girls' father, who is serving time in prison, is acquitted and comes back to be the father they never new, Dana's world is shattered. Only by soul-searching and and facing hard decisions can Dana and Brady find true happiness.MY THREE GIRLS deals with a difficult plot but Ms. Floyd handles it with skill and passion. It's a unique, tender, heartwarming story you won't want to miss. Very highly recommended.